May checklist for the organic garden

Published 5:41 am, Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Daylily “Serena Lady” (Hemerocallis) is a good choice for planting this month.

Daylily “Serena Lady” (Hemerocallis) is a good choice for planting this month.

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May checklist for the organic garden

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A cool spring in Montgomery County and adequate rainfall in April have our gardens in good shape for the summer. To lessen heat stress on plants that the summer will bring, replenish mulch in flower and vegetable beds as needed. A thick layer of mulch will deter weeds, keep the soil moist and moderate the soil temperature. Two types of mulch that work well are native mulch and pine needles.

As climbing roses finish their spring bloom, remove any dead or weak canes. Then selectively shorten or remove wood as desired. By removing older canes, the rose will be encouraged to put on new growth. Train the canes horizontally so that the rose will produce more flowers. Dead head repeat blooming roses throughout the growing season. Thrips can ruin the blooms on many of the roses. Spinosad is a good organic pesticide to combat thrips. It can also be used on citrus with leafminer larvae. When using Spinosad, spray very early or late when bees are not active.

Keep the compost pile moist and well-aerated. The pile should heat up in the summer (around 140 degrees). Adding grass clippings, cottonseed meal or coffee grounds and turning the pile to keep it well aerated and moist should bring the temperature up in the pile. Incorporate mature compost into the soil or just top dress the beds with two inches of compost and let the civil engineers - the earthworm - do the tilling.

May is a good time to choose daylilies (Hemerocallis) in bloom. Look for varieties that are resistant to daylily rust caused by a fungus, Puccinia hemerocallidis, introduced to our country in the year 2000. Easily diagnosed, the foliage is unsightly and has visible red-brown spores of the fungus. According to Dr. Larry Barnes, retired plant pathologist with Texas A&M University, to control rust, cut back the foliage and spray with Neem oil. Make sure that the Neem oil gets down into the crown of the plant. He said several applications may be necessary. Clean up the old foliage and get it out of the garden and into the trash.

Finish pruning azaleas this month. Feed them with cottonseed meal or an organic fertilizer. Watch for azalea lace bug which occurs most often when azaleas are stressed. The leaves will be lacking in chlorophyll and have the dark feces of the insect on the underside of the leaves. Keep azaleas well mulched to lessen stress.

Set out transplants of summer-flowering annuals such as cosmos, portulaca, angelonia, scaevola, gomphrena, torenia, melampodium, vinca and cleome. Cut off the flowers of transplants when you plant them so that energy goes into root development first. Flowers will follow. Direct seed zinnia and sunflower this month. For plants with interesting foliage, consider red-leaf basil such as ‘Red Rubin’ or “Purple Ruffles.”

Vegetables to plant include eggplant, muskmelon (cantaloupe), okra, southern peas, sweet potatoes, pumpkin and watermelon. Summer and winter squash and peppers can also be planted, but get them in as early as possible. Harvest onions and potatoes as the foliage yellows. Side dress tomato plants with a slow release fertilizer. Continue to foliar feed them weekly. Pick tomatoes when the first blush of pink appears. They will ripen indoors and be safe from mockingbirds.

Lawn maintenance involves frequent mowing and infrequent watering. Leave St. Augustine lawns at least 3 inches long - 4 inches in the shade. The longer grass blade will promote root growth deeper in the soil. Sharpen the mower blade monthly so that a clean cut of the grass blade is obtained. Practice “tough love” and wait until you can see your footprints on the grass before watering. Most lawns are over-watered — an inch a week is enough. According to Dr. Doug Welch, of Texas A&M University, the No. 1 mistake made by gardeners is over-watering. By top-dressing lawns with 1/4- to 1/2-inch compost, less irrigation is needed.

Examine plants for insects and disease. Most pests can be washed off with a blast of water from the hose. Scale can be controlled with horticultural oil - light-weight summer oil. Neem oil, which has fungicidal as well as insecticidal properties, can be used on powdery mildew, aphids, mites, whiteflies, beetles and scale. Read and follow the directions when using any pesticide. And use pesticides only when indicated - do not use a pesticide when you do not have a problem. Most insects (97 percent) are either beneficial or cause no damage. Beneficial insects and your shadow in the garden are the best pesticides available.